Toyota MR2 Roadster 2ZZ-GE Engine Swap

[Turn7]

Some good work and knowledge here, well done....

Ive got a 140 Celica and test drove an MR2 before buying it, but the lack of space would have done my head in...

Ive never known a car keep its engine so clean - annual changes and approx 12k , the old oil is still clear....

Ive driven the 190 motored Elise and that works well if thats your thing - Id prefer another Integra....

Looking forward to updates tho....

[Escy]

I mainly use mine for commuting so the lack of space isn't such an issue.

I finished the exhaust and got the bumper back on. I took it out for a drive and it's all good, the exhaust isn't as loud as i'd feared, much quieter than the celica was, especially at idle.






I need to get the A/C re-gassed and an alignment done but it's pretty much finished now. I'm planning on removing the soft top and fitting it to my black MR2 as the roof on that is ripped and a car with a hole in the roof is a tough sell in the winter. I'll then just keep the silver car with the hard top only, I prefer the look.

[Nick-y7yhy]

First of all, congrats on what you’ve achieved. The finished outcome looks excellent, and I really like some of the custom touches, such as as retaining as much of the Celica manifold as possible. I’ve owned my 1zz Roadster for the last couple of years, but plan to get a 2zz dropped in soonish - don’t suppose you wouldn’t be interested in a paid job doing the same again?

[Escy]

Thank you Nick. Send me an email with your plans, if I can't help i'll be able to suggest someone who can.

I was waiting to get some decent photos of the car for the next update but the weather has been horrible, I took these pictures the first day I drove it to work.

While the 17's wouldn't be my choice I think it looks alright in the flesh and i've not really noticed much difference in ride or handling compared to my standard MR2 (which i've just sold).

While I was selling my black MR2 I didn't have space for both so my mate had this one on his drive. He's been blasting around in it and has fallen for it. Everyone that has a drive seems to. Best bang for buck sports car out there in my opinion.

[TwoStrokeNut]

Lovely. Really nice to see the work involved here. It's something I've been interested in for many years.

This was posted by TST recently, enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BqJgQ2aeAM

[Escy]

I watched that yesterday. It's a shame he didn't get to drive a better conversion, that exhaust manifold isn't ideal and so it's probably down on power and the gearbox has totally the wrong ratios so the engine can't stay in lift during the gears. Good to see he liked it anyway.

[TwoStrokeNut]

Also having 250kgs of ballast on board, ain't going to help. Still looked great fun though.

[Nick-y7yhy]

Escy said:

Thank you Nick. Send me an email with your plans, if I can't help i'll be able to suggest someone who can.

Sorry, only just spotted your reply! I’ve just sourced myself a Corolla T Sport with 120k on the clock. Pulls well and seems a sound engine. I’d be looking at getting my conversion done exactly the same as yours, including having the sixth speed from the MR2 box added to the Corolla box to make higher speeds bearable. Only difference is I’m led to believe my Corolla ECU won’t work - it has to be a Celica one for some reason?
You seem to know what you’re doing - let me know if you’d be able to price the work up, or details of your friend you mentioned earlier. I’ll keep a regular eye on this thread now. In fact, I’ll pm my e mail address now while I’m at it. Cheers!

[arginite]

What AUX belt did you use for this?
Did you follow a guide for moving the diff between boxes?

[Escy]

This is the guide I followed. I can't remember the size of the aux belt.

http://www.diymytoyota.com/corolla/quick-install-l...

[arginite]

Thanks

[Cylinder 8]

Great work, this. You've made it look so easy!

I'm currently helping a friend do this conversion with the engine from an '03 Corolla T-Sport. We've got the engine in the car and wired up but there's clearly an electrical problem somewhere. With the key turned to ON, the power steering pump comes on (is this normal?) but the fuel pump doesn't prime. Then, with the key turned to START, the fuel pump starts running but the engine doesn't crank.

Our best guess at the moment is a bad/missing earth somewhere. Can you remember where all the earth cables need to be by any chance?

[Escy]

It's normal for the power steering pump to run with the ignition on. From memory you've got the main earth strap on the side of the gearbox near the battery and then there is a couple on the side of the cylinder head.

[Cylinder 8]

Escy said:

It's normal for the power steering pump to run with the ignition on. From memory you've got the main earth strap on the side of the gearbox near the battery and then there is a couple on the side of the cylinder head.

Thanks. We've definitely got all those (and a couple more that we've added). We've sorted it now, it turns out someone forgot to reconnect the starter relay. I'll blame him for that.